Chiral reflection from a naturally optically active medium
Abstract
The differential reflection of left and right circularly polarized light from a naturally chiral liquid was enhanced and quantitatively measured under conditions of total reflection. In accord with recent predictions, the observed signal at the critical angle was some three orders of magnitude larger than the intrinsic chiral parameters (about 10 to the -7). This is to our knowledge the first observation of molecular optical activity by coherent light scattering.
- Publication:
-
Optics Letters
- Pub Date:
- June 1992
- DOI:
- 10.1364/OL.17.000886
- Bibcode:
- 1992OptL...17..886S
- Keywords:
-
- Birefringence;
- Chiral Dynamics;
- Circular Polarization;
- Optical Activity;
- Coherent Light;
- Light Scattering;
- Polarized Light;
- Rhodamine;
- Optics